When I was younger, music wasn't what it is today. There wasn't 50 different types of music. You had a choice between - pop, rock, soul, classical or opera. Now that list is so long with the evolution of music and the many different artists. I won't even begin to try to list all of the types available today. Starting at the age of 7 or 8, my favorite performers were the Jackson 5 and the Osmond Brothers. The Osmonds, more so for their Disney specials more than for their music and the Jackson 5 for their music. Songs like I'll be There, Ben, Never Can Say Goodbye and a whole slew of other tunes. I basically grew up listening to the Jackson 5 and Michael's solo music since there was only two or three years difference in our age. There was always some of his music playing somewhere. The reason for this is that last night, while watching TV for the first time in a couple weeks, I was watching HBO Canada and was surprised to see the Michael Jackson movie - This Is It. Now, say what you will about Michael, he was weird, gay, a pedophile or call him Wacko Jacko if you like, but sooner or later, you must admit that he was above all, an artist, entertainer and one of the best selling singer/songwriter/dancers of our time.
Over twenty years ago, sometime around 1987 or 88, myself and five friends had decided that we would go and see Michael perform his Thriller show on Halloween night in Seattle, Washington. I was living in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada at the time. Now don't get me wrong, I was a die hard rock and roll fan and would never have let anyone think that I was even listening to his music. On the other hand, I have to admit that in the 80's, things were quite different and most of the clubs were playing big hair rock and there were many successful artists who were playing dance music. Anyway, the reason we all wanted to go see Michael was the fact that we knew his popularity was winding down and we may not get another chance to see this performance being that the Thriller album was already 5 years or so old. That and the fact that he'd started having the reported skin treatments and plastic surgery on his face which made many believe that he was losing it. So, we bought our tickets at 120 dollars each and we all pitched in to rent a limo to take us to Seattle. All together, this evening was costing us over 500 dollars each- not to mention the drugs we had decided on bringing. A week before the show, Michael was burned doing the Pepsi commercial and canceled the rest of his tour. We got our money back from the tickets and the deposit on the limo since it was still a week away. We lucked out, although none of us ever had a chance to see him again. I find this to be a disappointment because he didn't, to my knowledge, tour during the 90's- at least not in my neck of the woods. So, for his last shows, he wasn't even going to perform any of them in the US. The This Is It shows were all going to be performed in London. Sad for us and then his untimely death sealed the deal that we weren't going to see him ever again until this movie was made showing the rehearsals of his last shows. He still had it at 50 years of age. He still had his voice, his moves and his charisma. What a shame that it's all over. I didn't know him personally, so I couldn't venture an opinion about his private life other than it was a little bizarre. I don't really believe in the allegations of pedophilia since he was, by his actions and weird lifestyle, an easy target for people to try to get some money from him. I could be wrong, but it doesn't matter much anymore. All I can say is that he was one of the greatest entertainers of my time. I'm not afraid to admit that I liked most of his music and all of his moves. Who among us has never tried to MoonWalk? Yes, we are going to miss him, but his music will live on.
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